


The Marimo Prince

by elbatross



Series: The Marimo AU [5]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, Gen, M/M, Plants, Violence, marimo au, murderous marimo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-11
Updated: 2013-02-11
Packaged: 2017-11-28 23:02:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/679856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elbatross/pseuds/elbatross
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There in a kingdom in the crowded little body of water called Lake Xavier, ruled by a little Prince named Charles. Prince Charles can only become King when he meets his mate, but a little mutant marimo like him can only dream to find one just as he dreams of the Dry World above his little world underwater. Then, one day, there's a bird...</p><p>(also more related to the actual film than the rest of the series!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for everyone who loves the AU as a Valentines present. This _really_ wasn't supposed to get this long. At all. It took on a life of it's own, though, and the story had to get out somehow. Enjoy!

In a kingdom far away and at the bottom of a slightly murky but rather lovely lake lived a tiny prince. Truthfully, he'd been alive long enough to probably have grown a little more, but he had to think of all the darling younger subjects or the older ones who were getting shoved to the bottom of their home and starting to flatten.

Okay, so _maybe_ they needed a bigger lake, but it wasn't as though a whole kingdom could just up and move so the little prince marimo did what he could to keep everyone happy. His subjects loved him for that, at least, praising Prince Charles of Lake Xavier for his efforts and his kindness and in secret (or as secretly as one could in an overpopulated body of water) wondered if he'd ever take on the title of king. There was a clause that prevented him from inheriting the title that stated he was to take a mossmate before he could become king, and yet Charles had never taken just one marimo to be his better half. It wasn't that title mattered, because Charles's mother had mated below her status and no one had cared, or that he wasn't charming enough. The problem laid in the fact that the prince was almost overly charming and constantly had other marimo rolling and floating after him constantly. He kept from sticking to them whenever the littler ones were about, but that didn't mean he hadn't photosynthesized alongside nearly every ball of moss that was available to do so.

Prince Charles simply hadn't found any one marimo that made him feel as buoyant as a perfect current or a cool spot with just the right amount of sunlight. He almost had once, but Dame Moira was a little more interested in her patrol and a young shrimp named Sean than him. After that, he'd put all his focus into the kingdom and it's eventual expansion, as well as ceasing the continuing abduction of some of his subjects. Prince Charles had no time to pursue romance with his busy lifestyle and the lives of others to worry about. He'd given up on the whole thing when Moira refused his proposal anyhow. His days were to be spent as a busy prince until he finally flattened out below a sea of green fuzz when the lake overflowed with marimo and other aquatic life, and that was that. Everyday was the same to him, always ushering little ones up to play and having polite conversation or a spot of photosynthesis with someone nice and round and green.

It was all dreadfully boring, were he allowed to be frank about it. Charles wanted to see more outside the lake, and every so often he floated to the surface to get a look around at the world above. It was beautiful, with animals all around and humans that would pass by to hold him. That was his favorite sensation, when they used their little appendages to tenderly stroke his fluffy body and make affectionate human calls at him. When they threatened to take him home, he simply had to roll off their hands and back into the water and that was that. But he was ever curious about what it'd be like to roll around on the dirt and travel. Would it be the same as rolling on the sand? And what about the dangers of drying out? He decided that it would be better to stay safe in the lake instead of taking his chances, but the thought of going out and seeing if there were other lakes that they could move to was very tempting some days.

"It's impossible," he told him self one morning as he watched a few squirrels in the forest fight over a nut. "There isn't a marimo alive dumb enough to brave the Dry World just to travel, no matter how beautiful the green of the trees may be or how tempting the little lakes the rain leaves on the dirt might be. Even if they do look like a wonderful place to cuddle up with someone, they always go away and there's too much sun up here to get comfortable. The Dry World is such a cruel place." Even as he made such a claim, he still longed to be in it. Prince Charles bore the curse of being too advanced for his own good, which brought his family their status and made him a little more special than the others. Even Dame Moria, who was content in keeping the kingdom safe, wasn't as evolved as Charles. He was completely aware of how different he was, namely in the fact that he wanted to do more than just stay in one spot or roll about. Additionally, his family and a select handful of his species were the only ones that didn't produce more of their kind without a mate, making it that much more important when he did make his choice. Not a marimo in the lake was right for the task and he knew it, which made him long for the impossible. "Maybe one day, Charlie. You can try it when the humans come along again, that way you won't be too far from the shore."

A flock of birds flew high overhead, one starting it's descent down to catch a fish from the lake. At least, Charles assumed that it was swooping down to hunt, until he realized that it was starting to crash into the water beisde him and caused the surface to violently ripple. The prince marimo went flying into the air and landed near the edge of the lake, almost on the shoreline. Someone's cursing was muffled in the bird's throat, causing it to flap around pathetically as it struggled for air. Charles started to panic as he realized that whomever the being was in the bird's body was going to kill it and themself if they didn't get out, and he didn't want to cause distress in his kingdom if it sunk postmortem. He spun as fast as he could towards the bird.

"You have to get out of there! You're going to die!" The bird managed to croak something out that sounded suspiciously like the name "Erik", which he assumed was the trapped being's name. "Erik, please! Please let Erik go, bird!" From the birds mouth fell a prickly, lumpy marimo that was lighter and bigger than Charles. He attached to it and helped pull it away, not bothered by it's foreign spines and spikes. 

"How did you know my name?! You could talk to the bird and get me out! How did you do that? I thought I was the only one who had gifts that worked in the Dry World..." The marimo pulled away from Charles, furious and frightened. He studied Charles, bobbing widely and clearly still frazzled from his fight with the bird. 

Prince Charles knew then that the new marimo, Erik, was just like him. He calmly approached him, brushing against Erik in an attempt to show him that things would be alright.

"We're alike, Erik. You're not alone." he started. "I'm Prince Charles, and this is the proud kingdom of Lake Xavier. Come on, I'll show you around." Erik appeared apprehensive, but seeing as Charles had saved his life, he agreed and followed him underwater. When Erik started to head in the wrong direction, Charles gently latched onto him and guided him along. He tried his best to ignore the bubbly feeling he was getting from their contact and assured himself that he was only upset when Erik pulled away because his pride was wounded and not because Erik was a very attractive marimo. As they continued to sink, Charles dared to break the silence.

"What were you doing in that bird's throat?"

"Caspartina," he muttered. Charles stopped sinking, confused. "The bird's name was Caspartina. What did it look like I was trying to do?"

"I think I'm mistaken in thinking that you were trying to suffocate it. Birds often pick things up, but never marim-why are you puffed out so proudly, Erik?" Charles shrank in horror. "Erik! You didn't!" His companion only seemed to swell up even more.

"It tried to swallow me. It's Shaw's per, and now he's either coming to your lake or far away and able to cause more trouble where I can't reach him. So thanks for that," Erik grumbled. "I'll have to track him down again, and being here won't help me at all." He made no move to return to the surface, however, and Charles was thankful for that.

"At least stay and rest for a while, won't you? It might be a little overcrowded here, but I'm sure there's space for one more marimo and it would be rude not to offer you a place to stay. You can tell me all about Shaw as well, and I'll see if I can do anything to help you find him." 

"...alright. Lead on, Your Highness." Erik did a slow spin, a mockery of the one customary to marimo offering praise to their prince, and Charles couldn't help bouncing in amusement.

"Please, just Charles is fine." The prince almost lost control of himself, floating upwards a little with bashfulness. "A-anyhow, come along. It's almost time for The Daily Rest, and everyone hardly seems to be able to start without me for some unfathomable reason." They started on their way down again, and if Erik didn't notice that Charles was now closer to him,then he wasn't going to do anything to make him aware of it. 

\---

The Daily Rest was probably one of the most exciting traditions to regular marimo that Prince Charles could fathom, but he found it to be really tedious. The objective was to move every marimo to the coolest and darkest patch of the lake that they could and then for some indeterminate amount of time just rest there until the ruler of the kingdom said to stop. Some of his older subjects wouldn't allow him to only have it for a couple of minutes, stubborn in their will to preserve certain traditions, but Charles tried his best to cut it down as often as he could. Once they started the rest, which he exempted Erik from and happily found that he would rather join in, he moved in a little closer to the newcomer to talk.

"Hopefully you don't find this to be too boring. It shouldn't last for too long, and afterwards I'll show you around. The castle isn't far off either, you might like it there." Even as he spoke excitedly, Erik remained still and quiet. Charles was starting to think that maybe he was just usually quiet, but remembering how strong his voice seemed to be earlier he didn't think that was quite the case. "And then you can meet Raven, my sister. She's like us and very good at making herself look like other plants and animals with her shadow." Now Erik seemed more interested, rolling a bit closer. "I'm surprised she didn't join us, but then again she likes to get out of this by hiding. I'm sure she'll show up."

"Maybe we should have hidden away, but you can't skip out on your princely duties and I don't know my way around here. I don't know how you talked me into this." A few of the surrounding marimo glared at Erik for his grumbling tone towards the prince, but Charles didn't chastise him. It was good to be treated like an equal for once.

"You could have explored. No one would have tried to eat you, but I'm not sure you wouldn't try to choke them anyhow." 

"Oh shut up." Erik fumed at the teasing and bumped into Charles. "I wouldn't have had to do that if Shaw wasn't in the bird's beak. At least he might be here, then I can kill him." Marimo panicked at the mention of killing, and Charles had to reassure them that he was only joking.

"Erik, please calm you mind. You're scaring my people, and surely you must know how nervous most marimo can be on a good day. We're a peaceful species."

"No, Charles, _they_ are peaceful because they don't know that there are some of us who are capable of doing so much more with ourselves. You've just never had the chance to try, or the need to. There are other options, Charles." He started to roll away, earning gasps from the other marimo. "I don't need your help, I can handle this on my own. Besides, what good would a little prince do against Shaw?" Erik left the area and went far off, the other resting marimo gossiping in his departure. The elders still didn't allow Prince Charles to cut The Rest short. He fumed for the rest of it.

Once he was free of his royal duties, Charles went in search of Erik. He passed his friends as he went, bouncing along with little hellos here and there. Every so often, the young marimo and other beings would stop him for a question or a bit of a chat, excited to see him. Armando and Alex were making a little burrow under the mud and pulled him away to show him their home, and then he was side tracked once again by a few very exceptional baby marimo wanting to perform a dance for him. Little Jean, Ororo, and Warren flipped about and twirled to their own little song as Charles watched, unaware that Erik had rolled in behind him to join his audience. They all hugged the prince once they finished, accepting his praise and jumping when Erik spoke.

"Exceptional. Very fine rolling indeed," he said. Ororo and Jean approached him a little more cautiously to thank him while Warren shied away behind Charles. "You're all very special little marimo, so in control of your movements."

"Prince Charles taught us. He gives lessons to the Gifted every fourth day. That's later today," Ororo informed him. "He makes sure we're very good at rolling around, and he said he might even take us to the surface one day to see the Dry World."

"It's a very big place, but there's a lot to learn there. I've seen a lot of it." The children gasped and gathered around Erik, leaving Charles to admire his skills with children despite his lack of skill handling other marimo.

"Have you really? Please tell us more, Mister!" Jean moved even closer, sticking to Erik to urge him into talking. Little bubbles rose from Erik's fluff with amusement.

"Alright, fine. But you all have to be still and quiet while I speak. You too, Your Highness." Charles rolled closer and settled in behind a still-wary Warren, listening to Erik talk about the wonders of trees and animals on the Dry World. He learned that the tiny lakes on the ground were called "puddles," and that even though they appeared to be nice resting spots that they weren't as deep as he'd hoped. There were also ways of traveling without drying out called "cups" and liquids to survive in other than water that had bubbles or were very sweet and helped one to stay a little greener. Both Charles and the children laughed when Erik told them about how wonderful "beer" made him feel but how gross it was to be sticky afterwards. Erik was far more charming when he was at ease, and so good with entertaining the little ones. He even let them see his spines, all made of little bits of metal that he'd picked up on his travels that he manipulated for his own use. They weren't allowed to get too close to them for fear of tearing, but he did show them how he could shape things.

"This is a crown. Humans use it to show who their royalty is." It was a little pointed ring when he finished, made of a golden metal.

"Erik, it's lovely. Humans are truly elegant creatures." Charles studied the crown, wondering what they even did with it. Maybe ones that small went of the petting limbs, he decided.

"No, not really. But they do make nice things. Usually theirs are bigger, they put them on their heads to hold down their fluff." He moved closer to Charles, easing it onto him. "Marimo have much more fluff than humans, but that doesn't mean that they don't look any less dashing with ornamentation." The children bounced and cooed about how wonderful Charles looked, but he could hardly pay attention with how close Erik was to him. 

"It doesn't," he whispered. Erik had plenty of weapons and scraps, all of which made him lumpy and nearly unapproachable, but he was the most wonderful marimo Charles had ever met and he'd only known him for half a day. Erik moved away, to his woe, to give a small rolling bow to the children.

"We must be going, young ones. The Prince wants to show me the castle."

"Will you be at practice?" Warren pushed between the girls to get closer to Erik . "You have to come to practice, Mister Erik! I wanna learn how to use metals too." The girls agreed, and Erik looked to Charles for permission. He fluffed out when he was given the go ahead.

"Then I'll make sure to be there. Good day." Erik allowed Charles to show him to the castle now, the little crown making it so that he had to bounce along now instead of rolling. A few bystanders whispered to one another about how much cuter the prince had suddenly become when he came into view.

\---

Charles's castle was the greatest collection of rocks that the lake could offer. Spaces in the rocks made dark areas that served as bedrooms, one of which was prepared for Erik upon command when they arrived. The lowest level had an open space where aquatic life came and went as they pleased. Charles waited expectantly as Erik scoped out his home, still proudly preening under his new crown when Raven came around to tease him.

"My my, Charles. Who's the lovely lump you've taken in this time? Is he going to be a permanent fixture in court? And what is that thing on your head?" She nudged her brother, almost knocking off his crown. Charles found a way to secure it onto his head a little more firmly.

"His name is Erik, and he's only staying here until he can solve a personal problem. And this 'thing' is his gift to me. It's called a crown and humans wear it when they are royal."

"You've never been this concerned about looking the part before, so what now? Oh, maybe you want him to be your mossmate, hmm?" Raven manipulated her self to look a little more lumpy before puffing out and deepening her voice. "Oh Charles, let me whisk you away to a tiny lake in the Dry World and photosynthesize with you until we make a million little babies because you think I'm the swellest marimo you've ever laid eyes on!" Charles quickly bounced away from Raven, but she persisted and followed along. "Or maybe you want to go to your room and hide away to cuddle, hmmm?"

"Raven, stop that. It's hardly decent, what with the way you moon after Mr. Bluegrass himself."

"H-Hank's a perfectly respectable marimo. He's just a little big. And blue. But there's nothing wrong with that! Anyway, what about your friend? I'm sure he'd rather meet his host's sister than sit and listen to a shrimp try to tell him about his aspirations of flying." Sure enough, Erik was with Sean and looked less than enthused while the shrimp made motions with his legs. Charles took his opportunity to pull Erik away.

"I was this close to eating him, I swear." 

"Surely you wouldn't...? Actually, I don't think I'd like to know the answer to that and there are more important things to attend to. Erik, I'd like you to meet my sister Raven, who despite appearances does not look as much like you as one would originally think. Mimicry is her Gift, just like you have the Gift with metal." Erik and Raven sized each other up before she returned to her usual tiny form. She was a dark blue that appeared green in certain lights, but most marimo wouldn't notice that she wasn't anything other than dark like them. "She's also fond of blue things." Raven gave Charles a neat shove.

"Did Charlie tell you what he can do? Or how fond he is of big strong marimo? I think part of it is because he's so tiny." Charles shoved back. Erik could only laugh at the pair of them.

"Not at all, which is pretty rude of him considering how much he seems to want to show everyone off. So, Prince Charles, what is it that you can do?" He waited as Charles regained his composure.

"I understand other species a little better than others. That is to say, I can speak to most beings on the Dry World, like with the bird earlier. I've never tried with a human, but...maybe some day. I've had a few lovely chats with mammals in my day, and I've convinced humans to pick me up and pet me," he mused, noting Erik's visible flinch, "but I've never tried anything more than that. It might become something useful one day, but it doesn't help too much down here unless I'm just telling a bird not to eat my friends."

"Still, that's pretty impressive. I'm sure it'll become useful soon enough." Erik's tone was suspicious, but with the arrival of the children for their afternoon training session, Charles had no time to question him about it. 

 

Erik wandered the castle that night after the seemingly endless activities of the day, restless and already wanting to go back out to look for Shaw. Charles was nice and the whole place was lovely, but there were things to be done and a human to catch. He'd very nearly cleared the grounds in front of the palace before he caught a gentle current coming from behind him. His only assumption as to who could be tailing him proved to be correct.

"Charles." The little marimo bounced into view.

"Erik, please stay." He moved closer. " I don't know everything about you, but I'd like to at least get to know you better and know what Shaw's done to hurt you. Surely some fish couldn't be that bad, right?"

"Shaw," he growled as he bristled, "is a human. He drained an entire lake, Charles, and then left every marimo, fish, and everyone else in it to shrivel up and die. My family was there, and I only got out because I made myself survive." 

"Oh, Erik." He bumped against him gently. "My friend, I'm very sorry, but you cannot let that rage keep you from finding people who can help you. You'll get to Shaw soon enough, I assure you, but how are you going to be able to go up against him if you're tired? All I ask is that you try to let someone care for you for a little while before you roll off and continue to take on the Dry World. I promised that you weren't alone, Erik, so let me prove that to you." Prince Charles moved away slowly. "I won't try to make you come with me, but I'd really feel more at ease if you did. Shaw's got friends, maybe you could use at least one too." 

Erik watched Charles bounce back into the palace before rolling a little farther away. He took Charles's words into consideration, and the way he'd pleaded with Erik using such tenderness. Then, Erik decided that turning back was probably his best bet. Maybe if he stayed around just a little longer and brought Charles to his side, he'd have an invaluable companion. The marimo headed back to his borrowed and cozy little room, huddling into his cubby. Distantly, he wondered if he might be able to fit just one more moss ball in with him, crown and all.

\---

As the days passed with Erik in the company of the Prince, people started to talk. The two were never apart, not during The Great Rest or the training of the children. They even rose to the surface to look out on the Dry World so that Charles could train himself as Erik collected more metal. Once, they even took the little ones to see the world above, the children in awe of every bird and mammal around. That was the day that Charles first learned how to travel on the Dry World.

It started with Erik hoisting himself onto the shore to pick up shell scraps, the others watching him with great interest. Ororo tried to follow him, only bobbing in the water until Erik helped her up. They rolled together, Jean and Warren begging to be next. Two marimo on the grass soon became four, leaving only a fond and hesitant Charles in the water to watch them. Erik approached the shore.

"Come on, Charles. The sand is soft and moist. Haven't you always wanted to try rolling about in the Dry World? Now's you're chance."

"I have, but I really shouldn't, Erik. Besides, I have my crown on, and I very well can't roll with a crown." As tempting as the offer was, Charles was honestly a little frightened to be out of the water and not safely cradled in some human's hand. But oh, the children looked to be having so much fun, and the sand on the Dry World didn't seem so dangerous to them...

"You asked me to try something for you, so please try for me?" He was now close enough to offer to help Charles out of the water, and that simple gesture was enough to coax Charles closer to Erik and allow himself to be pulled onto dry land. This sand was far different from the usual stuff at the bottom of his lake, and he was so distracted that he barely noticed Erik removing his crown and stowing it into himself for safe keeping. Charles nearly protested to have it back.

"Once you've had your fill up here, then you can have it back. As glad as I am to see that you don't trust even me with my present to you, I won't let it break, and if it does then I know how to fix it. Go on, Charles." Erik pushed against him gently. "You'll enjoy it, I promise."

And Charles did, if for nothing more than Erik joining in the play. They all rolled after one another and approached other animals, Charles conversing with all sorts of bugs and small beings. His favorite was a dragonfly named Angel with her shimmering wings and graceful weaving about, chattering about human fashion and how perfectly adorable he and Erik were with their children. Charles denied all accusations, but she landed on him and buzzed coyly.

"Don't try to lie, little algae friend. I see the way you two brush against each other like you want to become one big ball. And when he rolls after you, he actually looks a little greener. When you roll after him, you look much happier too. Just admit it, Prince of Xavier, you admire him. It's okay." Angel moved off of him, starting to fly away. "And remember, if you tell him, he can't run away." Charles was left a little dumbfounded, rolling through the tall grass to head back towards the children. He paused when he found them all circled around Erik again, listening intently like usual. With proper wooing, he thought, Erik could make a lovely mate. He was strong, protective, and when he thought he could let his guard down Erik could be the sweetest marimo since Charles himself.

But of course, Charles had to realize that he couldn't have that. Erik wasn't staying around for much longer, not once he got a trace on Shaw and could continue on his quest. The thought made Charles feel a little dewy and smaller than usual. It was hard to have someone around that he so desperately wanted but couldn't have, but he would have to deal with all that he could get from Erik for now. He absorbed the collection of water that had come from his body and headed back to the little group.

"Alright children, Erik. Time to go back home. Into the water you go," he managed to chirp, chuckling at the groans from the three smallest. "Maybe we'll come back another day, alright? It's almost time for The Rest." They all filed into the water, Erik following closely behind Charles all the way down. All the children were shown to their homes before they returned to the castle to prepare for the daily ritual, Erik still remaining close enough to Charles to make him on edge. "What?"

"Your crown. I still have it." He returned it to his owner and lingered for a moment. "There, much better. Now you've got everything you need." Charles shivered, his fuzz against Erik's and a temptation to skip out on the ceremony for the day. But Erik wasn't his, he remembered, and make a move towards his sister's room to fetch her.

"Thank you, Erik. Now if you'll excuse me," Charles bowed and bounced off to get Raven. He felt fortunate that he couldn't feel the dew returning to his surface while underwater.

\---

Erik was terribly distant the next day, which would have occupied most of Charles's worries had it not been for the strange feeling that something very bad was going to happen. His biggest clue was that the voices from the Dry World seemed closer, a little clearer to him than just floating on the surface quacking. As the sounds seemed to get clearer and the kingdom warmer and somehow even more crowded than usual, more and more of his subjects had started to complain to him. Prince Charles was almost too overwhelmed to perform his duties, but he was even more pressed to try when Darwin brought it to his attention that the water level seemed lower than ever.

"Charles, you've got to do something. If you want, I can go and check it out while you calm everyone down," Armando suggested, Alex already looking ready to protest at his side.

"That'd be most helpful, Armando, but you really don't need to. Still, it might be a good idea...just a quick trip, okay? Then get straight back here to report to me, please." They nodded to one another and Alex bumped noses with Armando before letting him swim up to the surface.

Everyone panicked when a human hand reached down and snapped the mudpuppy up, all but Erik who bristled and floated upwards quickly. Charles rushed after him.

"Shaw! He's the one who's doing this, I'd know that hand anywhere." Charles pulled him back before he could breech the water, still trembling with shock from Armando's kidnapping but determined to keep Erik from making matters worse even if he thought his words couldn't make a difference at this point.

"Erik, please, we'll think of something, just calm down! If you go out there now, he might kill you, and then how will that help anything? We'll make a plan, Erik, but you have to trust me." He started to sink, taking Erik with him. "Look, I know we might not have known each other for long, or that you really have every reason to trust me, but I do want to help and I do want to save my kingdom. We just have to be careful about how we handle this." Erik retracted his weapons and floated in front of Charles with disbelief.

"You think that I don't trust you?" 

"Yes, Erik, but that's not-"

"After all of this, and what I've shown and told you, and all the time we've spent together that I don't trust you? Charles..." He sighed, getting close enough to gently nuzzle against him. "Is that why you've become so distant these days? I trust you more than anyone, Prince Charles, and I'm ready to let you help me as long as you're willing to remember that." Charles leaned into Erik's touch.

"Do you trust me enough to stay when this is all over? You won't have to wander, you can make this your home, Erik." 

"I can't." Erik seemed conflicted on the matter, yet still remained close to Charles. "Once this is done, I've got to go. You don't need another marimo around to take up precious space, Charles. I don't want to cause you trouble for longer than I must."

"You aren't trouble, not even if you stay." He attached himself to Erik lightly enough to be moved if needed, but Erik didn't even seem to consider removing the prince. "Please, let's just go back and work this out, or maybe even to the surface once it's safe. I don't see a shadow that looks like a human up there, so maybe this Shaw person is gone." Erik puffed up as he looked, but took Charles's word for it and floated to the top with him.

Shaw was indeed gone, but a strange machine was beside the lake. It wasn't on, but from what Charles could tell it was most likely the thing causing his lake to lose it's water. A long tube ran from the side into the water, and when Charles pulled away from Erik to go examine it, he was pulled back.

"Don't. You could get stuck in that. If you're that curious, then look at it when we get on shore." Erik tugged him along and helped him up once again, then rolled off to see the machine. Charles still had a hard time rolling with his crown on, attempting to make progress when the faint crunch of human footsteps on twigs started to come from farther down the path. Erik had no time to get him before the human arrived, watching in horror as Charles was picked up.

The human was at least gentle with him, Charles found, and it was nice to be in the softest hands he'd ever met. He was stroked and cooed at, the delicate crown on his head paid extra attention to.

"Why, I've never seen such a sweet little marimo! Where'd you get your crown, little one?" As the human went to pick it up, Erik got himself rolling fast enough to launch into it and bury his metal into it's ankle. It cried out and nearly dropped Charles, but instead glanced down and chuckled when it saw him. "Oh, is this your little mate? My you're rather prickly, but I didn't mean to scare you." Erik was gingerly picked up and put into the human's palm with Charles, where he clung to the prince protectively. Charles held on firmly, watching the human frown at the great Water Stealing Mechanism.

"Erik, I don't think he's a threat."

"Humans CANNOT be trusted, Charles, not even this one. The softest and smallest looking ones are usually the most deadly." He gripped tighter. "And I don't want to lose you too, not when I've almost-never mind, just don't speak to him." But as soon as Erik had uttered the phrase, Charles thought that he'd come up with the best idea ever.

"That's it! I could speak to him, Erik, and maybe he'd help us! He already thinks we're cute from what I can tell, and he did use the human word for, um, friends when he talked about us, so we should take a chance." Erik wilted and grumbled.

"Fine, but be careful." Charles made a little noise to get the human's attention, sending it into a state of awe.

"H-hello," he started, watching it perk up even more and reach for it's clicky device. A little beep sounded, but unlike the other humans he didn't set Charles down afterwards to tap at it. "Um, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm just recording. Do you know what that is, little guy? Maybe I should ask for your name, or how it is that you can speak? But before that, I should probably be polite and introduce myself, hm?" The human bore it's teeth in what Charles remembered was to be considered friendly. "I'm Charles Xavier, and I own this property. Never knew little marimo lived in the US."

"Your name is Charles too? Are you a prince as well?" Erik nudged Charles, wanting him to get to his point. "Sorry, my friend here is a little impatient, and with reason. You see, Charles," he chuckled to himself about the coincidence before gathering himself again,"there's a human that's been draining our lake, and there are far more than just a few marimo living here. He took our friend too, and his mate is going to be very upset if we don't get him back. Could you help us, please?"

The human made a different expression, making the clicky device beep again before setting them down in the water. He muttered something about "poachers" and Charles could have sworn that he heard Shaw's name in there somewhere, then the human knelled to get to Charles's level. 

"Prince Charles, I promise to get you and your kingdom some help, and then if you'll allow me to see your people I can see what I can do to restore the lake to it's former glory."

"Could you make it bigger too?" Charles was quite hopeful until the strange expression returned, which caused him to deflate.

"I'm afraid not, but I think I can find a way to get you more space in a safer location." Human Charles made a friendly gesture yet again. "Please wait for me to come back before doing too much else, I promise I'll solve this." The human left, starting to talk on his clicky device in phrases that Charles didn't understand.

"See Erik, everything's going to be just fine," he assured him. Before them, the human stumbled over a wayward tree root in the path. "...very fine, nothing at all to worry about." At least, he hoped that it would be fine.

It wasn't entirely, of course. Leave it to Charles's life to get even more complicated over a territory dispute.

\---

Their day began with more water being drained from the lake. No one was pleased, especially not Erik. He complained the loudest of anyone, coming into Charles's room when the prince marimo retreated to try to stave off the sense of dread from his failure.

"We shouldn't have trusted him, Charles. I told you, and you didn't listen at all! Now everyone will have to suffer." 

"I know, Erik. And for that, I'm sorry. If I may have just a moment alone, I'll own up to my mistakes." Charles removed his crown. "I promised a great many thing to each and every subject in this kingdom upon taking my title, and I have failed them. It's a good thing I could never become king." He pushed the crown to Erik. "Thank you for trusting me as long as you have, Erik. I'm sorry." Charles shrank into one of the corners, quivering. Erik was going to leave him now and the entire kingdom was going to fall just because he'd made one of the greatest mistakes any marimo could ever make. He didn't move, even when he could feel Erik approach him. If the other marimo were going to assassinate him, this would be the best time.

It came as a surprise, then, when Erik attached himself to Charles and started to sway with him. There were no metal spikes or malice, just a gentle touch and soft words.

"Charles, you tried. That's all anyone could ask of you, and if you had the chance I'm sure that everyone in the lake would want you as their king. I certainly would, maybe more if this is going to be the last chance I have to say it. I want to be by your side, Charles, even now when everything is falling apart."

"I never thought you'd feel the same way about me as I do for you, Erik. I'm just sad that we had to realize it during what may be our final hours." They pressed closer together, the noise outside growing louder as the others continued to cry and shout. "I wish I could do something for them. They deserve so much more."

"All you can do is talk to the humans, but I don't want you around  
Shaw."

"What other choice do I have, Erik? Those are my people out there, and they are suffering. If that's the most that I can manage, then I want to at least try." Prince Charles removed himself from the corner, along with Erik. "Come, we'll get Raven and do something about Shaw. If we can't depend on humans, then we'll do what we can on our own." Erik nuzzled against him before letting him go.

"I knew there was a reason I loved you." He returned the crown to Charles's head. "Lead on, Your Highness."

\---

On the surface, Shaw and a couple of his friends operated the machine that drained the lake, placing any animals they'd sucked up into jars so they could sell them later. Sean the shrimp was one of their first captures, along with a sickly looking Armando in another jar from the day before. Raven felt ill at the sight when they were as close to the surface as they could get.

"We'll have to climb. Hold onto me and I'll use my metal to climb up. Remember the plan." Both Charles and Raven stuck to Erik as he made the treacherous climb up the muddy sides of the lake, thankful that it was at least cool and moist so that it wouldn't be too uncomfortable. When they were finally on land, they moved apart and rolled into place. Shaw was far too distracted to notice the tiny green group, but the grass did help as it made a lovely camouflage for them. Charles gathered air into himself, then started to scream.

Everything that followed happened almost too quickly for him to account. The scream made Shaw turn to look, which caused him to trip over what he thought was a rock. Raven would celebrate with pride later, right along with Erik who extended every bit of shrapnel he had and let it plunge into the human's face. He moaned in pain, loud enough to appear to attract more humans. Erik and Raven already felt victorious and started to whoop when other humans pulled them away from Shaw to take him away, but their calls died down when they spotted a slightly flattened Charles on the ground. The kind human from the previous day took Erik and quickly bent down to pick up the newly misshapen marimo, cradling him gently.

"Poor little Charles, I'm so sorry..." Charles coughed, hardly moving as Erik rolled to him nervously. "We'll get you into some water and I will personally do my best to fix you, but you might not be as lovely and round as you were before. I'm sorry, darling, I am, but your sacrifice was worth it."

"I-I know," he managed, then went silent. Erik wouldn't allow any other human around him, pricking them when ever they got too close to the little mass. He hurt almost as badly as had when he lost his parents, seeing as Charles had done his best to do what he could for Erik's sake. Now, Erik would have given letting Shaw go just to have his Charles alive and round again. The soft human brushed his fingers against them both and set them in a small container of water before going to take the rest of the kingdom from the lake. Even with them getting there, the delicate ecosystem of the lake was entirely ruined by Shaw's work. All that could be done was relocation. Erik didn't think Charles's sacrifice would be that worth it if this was the final result.

Their new home was to be in a lab with the soft human, tanks everywhere and all separated from one another. Charles's crown was repaired and handed over to Erik for safe keeping, but not Charles himself. Erik was beginning to worry, but Raven assured him that things would be fine.

"The human saved Armando, I think he'll be able to help Charles," she said. "I still don't know, but it won't hurt to hope for the best." The stayed close together, watching humans go in and out. They tapped on flat things with sticks, and sometimes one went between the tanks with tubes to connect little holes with them and open a pathway between each aquarium. Slowly, the others started to travel and check on one another, offering condolences to Erik and Raven. It was days before Soft Human came in with a little jar and a kind look, showing it to them. Erik threw himself at the glass, finding Charles alive and well in the jar.

"He's going to be a slower for a while," Soft Human informed them, "But he's better." The prince was gently poured into the aquarium and surrounded by Erik and Raven almost immediately.

"I'm fine, you two. Big Charles did a fine job making me round again, but I don't think I'll be able to roll around for a while. He did say that I was fortunate to have a very attentive mate to help with that, though." Erik and Charles nearly melded together, leaving Raven to giggle with amusement and head off to Hank's tank. "If you'll have me, of course. You'd be some sort of royalty though, and you'd be obligated by royal decree to photosynthesize with me until we produced at least one heir." The swayed and bounced with the force of Erik's happy movements.

"I don't think I'll mind that at all. For you, Charles, I'd help make a million heirs. You don't even have to ask. With you, I've found my home, and I'll never want to be under anyone else's rule that isn't yours."


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erik's story is complete, now he needs a second opinion.

Erik sipped at his drink, not even flinching when the woman before him pushed his manuscript back at him and dropped her sunglasses on the table purposefully.

"Professor Lehnsherr, can I be one hundred percent honest with you?" Her fingers ran through her hair with agitation, awaiting his permission. He nodded. "Okay, because I don't think you're going to take this the right way. This thing right here," she tapped the stack of papers, "this won't make it through editing without someone sending it back printed on red paper. You can't make this into a childrens' book."

"Why not? Angel, it's got everything anyone could want their children to learn. Everyone has a gift and a purpose, the characters are cute, progressive relationships between members of the same gender and species...what's wrong with this one?" Angel sighed and groaned, probably ready to tear her hair out from what Erik could tell. He was glad that he'd grabbed the English student for a quick read through before calling up his editor if this was her reaction.

"I don't even know how your first book make it into print, to tell you the truth. Sure, it's cute, but I don't think you understand that you can't just have you cute little character _killing people and other animals_ as the basis for your plot in a _childrens' book_. That just doesn't fly unless you're Neil Gaiman or someone, and even he doesn't do it."

"What about Stard-"

"That's not the point, Erik. You aren't writing a book about the villain triumphing because he murdered someone, you're making the hero and his lover do it. That's just not how things work." Angel glanced at the cover again, tracing the illustration of the usual Erik the Marimo and his mate Charles, who now wore a crown. "Still, it'd be a shame for this to go to a waste. It's not absolutely horrible, and it's pretty cute if you overlook murder. I don't know what you could do with it, but I know that a bunch of people would probably jump at the chance to by a little Prince Charles if he went on the market with the rest of the series. This isn't even in continuity, though, so I don't know how you'd even put it in with the others."

"I know, but Charles has been forcing me to sit down and watch the anime. Did you know that they do themed episodes in Japan? I don't even write for those, you know, and Charles wanted to know what I'd do if I did. This is what I came up with." Erik traced the rim of his coffee cup with his finger. "I'm not even suited to writing, you know. This is just some stupid pet project that started with that monster Charles keeps bringing over and I can't stop because I like how happy it makes him. I wish I could just have it as a one time show and call it good."

"That's it."

"What's it?"

"The anime! You could use it for that. I mean, you do own all the rights, and it's not like they wouldn't try to make it into something a little more Ghibli over there. Look, I'll take this and go talk to Professor Howlett for translation, you get on the phone with your guys, and do NOT let your editor that you went to someone else for consulting." She picked up the packet and started off, leaving Erik with her coffee tab. "Don't worry, Professor, I'll take care of this all!"

Erik watched her walk away, downed his coffee, then called over one of the baristas to get him another. This wouldn't end well for anyone, and he had absolutely no clue how to even get his little manuscript translated to a television animation, much less without Emma's guidance.

He was definitely going to need more coffee. Charles was going to just have to deal with the accumulation of mugs around their apartments for the next few months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story was never really meant to be me telling it, which is why I think it was so hard for me to get it all out. Erik's not a writer by trade, of course.
> 
> But I am a Gaiman fan so that did have to be slipped in somewhere.


End file.
